US President Donald Trump is suffering from a chronic vein condition, the White House announced on Thursday, after days of speculation regarding photographs showing bruising on the president's hand.

After recently experiencing swelling in his legs, Trump underwent a "comprehensive exam" including a diagnostic vascular study, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Leavitt said Trump's bruised hand was consistent with "tissue damage from frequent handshaking" while taking aspirin, which she said is "part of a standard cardio-vascular prevention regimen".

Trump, 79, has regularly touted his good health and once described himself as "the healthiest president that's ever lived".

The vein condition discovered in the recent exam is called chronic venous insufficiency, a condition that occurs when leg veins fail to pump blood to the heart, causing it to pool in the lower limbs, which can then become swollen.

The condition is considered common, particularly in people over the age of 70, Leavitt said, adding that there was "no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease" and that all results from the test were "within normal limits".

The full medical report will be released to reporters, the White House said.

Photographers captured what appeared to be Trump's swollen legs during the Fifa Club World Cup final in New Jersey on 13 July, with subsequent photos taken earlier this week showing his bruised hands during a meet with Bahraini Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at the White House.

A bruised hand on the president had previously been photographed during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in February.

The swollen legs and bruising prompted online speculation and rumours that the president may have been experiencing an illness he hadn't made public.

Following an annual physical exam in April, White House physician Sean Barbabella wrote that Trump "exhibits cognitive and physical health".

Trump was 78 years and seven months old when he was inaugurated for his second term in January, making him the oldest president to ever be inaugurated as US leader.

The Metropolitan Police plans to close half the front desks at its stations to save money, the BBC has learned.

The move would reduce the number across London from 37 to 19, and break a pledge to have a counter staffed 24/7 in each of the capital's 32 boroughs.

A Met Police spokesperson said the plan was subject to consultation and no changes would be made until later this year.

"Given the Met's budget shortfall and shrinking size, it is no longer sustainable to keep all front counters open," they said.

The Met covers all parts of London apart from the Square Mile covered by the City of London Police.

Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley last month took the unusual step of warning Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer that police forces would face "stark choices" about which crimes to investigate if their budgets were cut.

Concern about funding was such that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper took negotiations with Treasury to the wire, ending up as the last cabinet minister to agree her department's spending.

Labour made manifesto commitments to halve violence against women and girls as well as knife crime.

At the same time, the Met has been struggling with a widespread loss of trust in its officers, particularly among women, following the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer.

There were further revelations about entrenched misogyny and racism, leading to the force attempting to rebuild trust with Londoners with a two-year plan making fresh commitments on community policing, in its A New Met for London strategy.

A key commitment was to have at least one 24/7 front counter in each of London's 32 boroughs to make it easier for people to report crime.

But the BBC has seen leaked plans for the Met Police that show only eight counters will remain open 24/7, and there will also be reduced hours at 11 front counters, closing at 10pm weekdays and 7pm weekends.

A Met Police spokesperson defended the plans, saying: "That's why we have taken the tough choice to pursue some closures and a reduction in hours – allowing us to focus resources relentlessly on tackling crime and putting more officers into neighbourhoods across London."

The spokesperson added that 5% of crimes were reported at front counters in the last year, "with the vast majority of Londoners doing it over the phone, online, or in person with officers elsewhere".

With nearly a million crimes (948,241) reported to the Met in 2024 excluding fraud according to the latest government figures, that adds up to just under 50,000 crimes (47,412) reported at existing front counters.

The Home Office and the Mayor of London have been contacted for comment.

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Children under seven years old should not have shop-bought slushies over health concerns about a chemical they contain, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said.

The government watchdog said slushed ice drinks containing glycerol - a type of sweetener - were unsafe for young children, and consumption of them should be limited for children aged between seven and 10.

Most slushies contain naturally occurring glycerol instead of sugar to stop them freezing solid, giving them the slushy effect.

The FSA said consuming large amounts of it can cause side-effects, including headaches and sickness, low blood sugar levels, shock, and loss of consciousness in children.

Prof Robin May, the FSA's chief scientific advisor, said: "While these drinks may seem harmless and side effects are generally mild, they can, especially when consumed in large quantities over a short time, pose serious health risks to young children."

The fresh FSA guidance comes following research indicating children under eight should completely avoid drinking slushies.

It studied the cases of 21 two- to seven-year-olds in the UK and Ireland who needed A&E treatment after becoming acutely ill within an hour of having the drinks, mostly between 2018 and 2024.

The children all recovered and were discharged from hospital.

Dr Duane Mellor from the British Dietetic Association told the BBC that it was "relatively rare" for children to suffer ill side-effects after drinking slushies containing glycerol.

The registered dietician said the "heat of the day", dehydration and a child being excited could "exacerbate" symptoms linked to consuming the drink.

He recommended that children have water or cold milk as alternatives to slushies - or if they want a sweet drink, fruit flavoured water with ice cubes, a diet drink or a low-sugar ice lolly.

The FSA's updated guidance is stricter than its previous advice, which said that under-fives should avoid slushies.

It now also says children aged seven to 10 should have no more than one 350ml slushy drink - "roughly the size of a fizzy drink can" - a day.

"We are asking parents and carers to take extra care when buying drinks for young children, particularly during warmer months when consumption of 'slushies' typically increases," said Prof May.

This guidance also applies to ready-to-drink slushy pouches and make-at-home kits of slushy concentrates.

The FSA says its guidance should be on a "written warning at [the] point of sale" and that producers should make the drinks with the "minimum quantity" of glycerol "technically necessary to achieve the required 'slush' drink effect".

It also recommends against vendors offering free slushy refills in venues where children under the age of 10 would likely consume them.

The identities of more than 100 British officials, including members of the special forces and MI6, were compromised in a data breach that also put thousands of Afghans at risk of reprisal, it can be reported.

The latest fallout from the breach was kept secret by an injunction until Thursday, when the order was lifted in part by a High Court judge.

That allowed media organisations to reveal that detailed case notes in the database contained secret personal data of special forces and spies.

The government had already admitted on Tuesday the data of nearly 19,000 Afghans who had worked with the British during the 20-year war in Afghanistan and had applied to resettle in the UK had been inadvertently leaked.

Many were judged to be at risk of serious harm or even death as the Taliban sought retribution against those who had worked with the British government during the conflict.

This was part of the reason the information was protected by a so-called "super-injunction" - a kind of gagging order that prevents the reporting of even the existence of the injunction.

The BBC understands that the man had previously been rejected for resettlement, but was brought to the UK after posting names from the data on Facebook and indicating that he could release the rest.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) declined to comment on the actions of the individual but said that "anyone who comes to the UK under any Afghan relocation schemes" must go through "robust security checks in order to gain entry".

The discovery of the breach in 2023 forced the government to covertly set up the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR) - a resettlement scheme for those affected, who were not told about the breach despite the risk to their security.

The scheme has already allowed 4,500 Afghans and family members to move to the UK and a further 2,400 people are expected, at an estimated cost of £850m.

The accidental leak was the result of someone working at UK Special Forces headquarters in London inadvertently emailing more than 30,000 resettlement applications to an individual outside of government, thinking that he was sending data on just 150 people.

After the lifting of the super-injunction on Tuesday, a secondary injunction had prevented the revelations about special forces and security services personal being compromised.

But that was also lifted on Thursday that barristers representing both the MoD and a group of media organisations reached a compromise that meant journalists could report the additional facts.

Defence Secretary John Healey told Parliament on Tuesday that the breach was a "serious departmental error" and acknowledged that it was "just one of many data losses" relating to the Afghan relocation schemes.

The shadow defence secretary, James Cartlidge, apologised on behalf of the former Conservative government, which was in power when the leak was discovered.

The MoD has refused to say how many people in Afghanistan may have been harmed as a result of the data breach. The Taliban government said on Thursday that it had not arrested or monitored Afghans affected by the leak.

But relatives of Afghans named in the leak told the BBC that they fear for their family still in the country, with one saying efforts by the Taliban to find their named relative intensified following the leak.

An MoD spokesperson said: "It's longstanding policy of successive governments to not comment on special forces.

"We take the security of our personnel very seriously, particularly of those in sensitive positions, and always have appropriate measures in place to protect their security."

Tens of thousands of campers have arrived at Tomorrowland in Belgium, a day after a fire destroyed the festival's main stage.

Festival organisers have insisted that the event in the town of Boom, south of Antwerp, will continue without the stage, adding that they are "focused on finding solutions".

Nobody was injured in Wednesday evening's blaze and experts are working to determine a cause.

The electronic dance music festival is due to start on Friday, with 400,000 people expected to attend over two weekends.

Hundreds of artists, including David Guetta, Lost Frequencies, Swedish House Mafia and Charlotte De Witte are expected to perform.

The local fire service has declared the site safe and a decision will now be made about whether to demolish the structure before the festival begins on Friday.

The campsite, known as DreamVille, has opened and so far organisers say this weekend's event will continue.

In its latest post on Instagram on Thursday, Tomorrowland said: "It is impossible to put into words what we're feeling."

It added that the Orbyz main stage "wasn't just a stage... it was was living breathing world."

Organisers said they had worked through the night to come up with solutions. A meeting was held with safety experts and members of local government on Thursday morning to discuss a contingency plan.

The mayor of Rumst, just north of Boom, told local media that another meeting discussing more ideas for an alternative to the main stage would be discussed in the afternoon.

"Cancelling the festival completely is the last thing we want to do," Jurgen Callaerts said.

There are 14 other stages at the festival, all much smaller than the main stage.

The fire started around 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT) on Wednesday. Videos posted on social media showed thick grey smoke engulfing the stage.

Some residents were evacuated as firefighters worked to stop the flames from reaching neighbouring homes and woodland.

One employee who had been working on the site described "an apocalyptic scene" as the fire broke out.

"We suddenly heard bangs and saw fire near the stage, a huge amount of fire," the unnamed individual told Het Nieuwsblad newspaper.

"We were just putting the finishing touches on it. One more day and it would be finished. Four weeks of work... gone in half an hour."

Tomorrowland began in 2005 and has become the biggest electronic dance festival in the world, attracting music fans from every continent.